


Evolution of Touch

by beaglesinbowties (Girlblunder)



Series: One shots: It could be canon [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 23:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6830149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlblunder/pseuds/beaglesinbowties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the title implies: an evolution of touch through the perspective of Alex Danvers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Evolution of Touch

**Author's Note:**

> This was a patron prompt from the lovely Hanfei, who requested something based on how Alex's boundaries change over time. It was requested that this be from Kara's perspective, but given some of the particulars, it felt more "right" to do this from Alex's.

* * *

Alex Danvers has never been overly tactile. She can clearly remember affectionate touches from her parents growing up; hugs and head rubs often from her mother, and shoulder squeezes and soft pats on the back from her dad. She’d always enjoyed the contact from them, but had only ever rarely felt the urge to reach out and touch anyone herself.

In school sometimes she sees girls tug each other down the hallway by a hand or an arm, and guys roughhousing with each other with shoves and elbow jabs. Alex has never been interested in any of it. When she’s at school she likes spending time with her friends, but primarily she’s there to make her parents proud. Good grades are expected with genius parents such as hers, and Alex looks forward to their praise when she does well.

Then Kara comes crashing into her life.

She wants to resent this strange visitor from another planet, and maybe even a small part of her does, but it doesn’t take Alex long to discover that Kara has a magic all of her own.

“Kara, what are you doing out here? Mom and Dad will be upset if they see you on the roof.” Alex leans out of the window as she speaks, frowning at the way Kara’s looking upward and ignoring her.

“I can see so many stars and planets when I concentrate,” Kara says in a distracted way, “but no matter hard I look, I can’t see Krypton.”

Alex swallows, her hands pushing against the window sill just a little harder. Kara’s only been with them a couple of weeks, and Alex has done her best to avoid her when she can. It’s been difficult since they share a room and Alex’s parents insist she should show Kara how humans live, but Alex just doesn’t know what to do with this interloper that’s suddenly intruding in her life.

Kara’s breath hitches, jerking Alex away from her thoughts. She feels awkward. What does someone say to a girl that’s lost her entire world? Alex doesn’t know.

She grunts as she climbs through the window, bracing herself carefully as she scoots over to Kara. Kara doesn’t look away from the sky, her arms curled tightly around her raised knees.

Alex takes up a similar position, oddly not minding the way their shoulders brush.

When Kara finally looks at her, Alex can see tears in her eyes. “My mom used to sing to me when I was upset, but I’ll never hear her voice again even though I can hear _everything_ now.”

Kara looks away, and Alex can see her knuckles go white as she clutches at her legs. “And I can’t even hug anyone without hurting them.”

Alex bites her lip. She’d been upset with Kara for hurting her mother, but Eliza had sworn up and down that Kara couldn’t be blamed for the bruises. As she looks at Kara now, she understands that Kara certainly blames herself.

Though Alex doesn’t know what to say to a girl that has lost her entire planet, she finds herself scooting closer to Kara. She slings an arm over Kara’s shoulder and pulls her closer, not understanding her need to comfort Kara, but not fighting it either.

The soft tracks of Kara’s tears glisten in the moonlight as she sends Alex a wide eyed look.

“Sorry,” Alex says. The word feels wholly inadequate, but Alex can’t stand to see Kara looking so forlorn. She much prefers the odd wonder Kara wears when she absently stumbles around and tries to absorb everything with her heightened senses.

Kara’s smile is wobbly, and Alex forces herself to look upward. “When my grandpa and grandma passed away, Dad said that even though they’re gone, pieces of them live in us - in our memories of them. Out of all the things that make me think of them, one thing kind of sticks out for me. My grandpa used to tell the _worst_ jokes.”

She can feel Kara straighten under her arm, and Alex is heartened when she sees that Kara’s sorrow has transformed into curiosity. Alex’s thoughts scatter as she tries to remember one of his jokes. She clears her throat awkwardly when she remembers one Kara might understand. “Stuff like: There’s a new restaurant on the moon. The food is great, but there’s just no atmosphere.”

Kara stares at her, brow furrowed as she puzzles the joke out. After a brief moment the furrow smooths out and Kara’s eyes widen. She begins to chuckle, the chuckles morphing into loud bursts of laughter almost immediately.

A smile splits Alex’s face as she leans back on her hands, shaking her head at Kara’s mirth. “You _would_ like that one.”

“But it’s so funny, Alex! There _is_ no atmosphere on Earth’s moon,” Kara says with a large grin.

There’s still a little moisture stuck to Kara’s lashes, but Alex knows these tears are from laughing too hard. “If you say so,” Alex says with a raised eyebrow.

They smile at each other a few heartbeats before Alex sits up. She leans over to bump Kara’s shoulder with her own. “You know, he gave me a book full of jokes you might like.”

Alex’s heart thuds when Kara gives her a look full of wonder. She isn’t sure if it’s because this will be the first time they do something together without Alex’s parents’ prompting, or if it’s just because Kara’s interested in the book.

“Will you show it to me?” Kara asks with bright eyes.

 _Maybe both_ , Alex decides with a snort. “Sure.”

She leads the way back inside, reaching out with both hands to help Kara through the window even though she doesn’t have to. Despite Kara’s abilities, there’s something almost fragile about her that Alex finds herself drawn to protect.

As she tugs the bright red joke book from the top shelf of her bookcase, she decides maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

* * *

That night is the start of many changes for Alex, all of which immediately have to do with how she interacts with Kara. It starts with small things at school: a nudge to remind Kara that staring isn’t polite, a hand pressed lightly to Kara’s back to guide her carefully through a hallway congested with people, or the odd occasion when Alex has the urge to play with the tips of Kara’s hair.

The touches come naturally, though only with Kara. Reaching out to Kara when she’s feeling overwhelmed in the crowd of school becomes second nature. There’s something fascinating about the way Kara looks when she’s trying to push out the noise and sounds around them, and the look of grateful relief she gives Alex is entrancing.

When the touches become less necessity and more delight, Alex becomes addicted to the way Kara’s nose crinkles when she smiles. It takes time for Kara to be comfortable with her own strength, but Alex revels in every time Kara reaches out for her elbow in the hallway or takes her hand on the walk home from their bus.

The delight grows so much that Alex doesn’t mind that her tentative popularity at school has been swept away by a foster sister who tells bad jokes and eats like a horse. Whispers in the hallway mean nothing to Alex as long as Kara can smile.

Who cares if people recognize that her sudden stance change on public displays of affection has everything to do with Kara?

It’s near the end of their first year in the same school that Alex’s repertoire for touch expands suddenly and without warning.

Alex frowns when she turns the corner, peering around the grassy area and wondering why there’s no one waiting under the shade of the oak tree. Kara is supposed to meet her here after class, but she’s nowhere in sight. It’s Friday and Alex’s parents have promised a night of pizza and movies. Kara’s been looking forward to it for the last few days.

Her frown deepens, and she decides to follow the route Kara normally takes from class. She makes her way inside the school building and down a series of halls, looking in every direction in hopes of spotting her foster sibling. Thankfully their school isn’t overly large and it doesn’t take long for her to find Kara.

Near the small niche that houses a water fountain and leads to two sets of bathrooms, Kara’s back is pressed against the wall as a small group crowds around her.

“Why were you staring at Jennifer? Don’t be a weirdo, Crazy Kara. She’s not like that,” the tallest boy in the group says as he leans menacingly toward Kara.

“We should call her Creepy Kara,” Jennifer declares as she pushes a lock of her curly blonde hair behind her ear.

“Creepy Kara, yeah I like that.” The tall dark-haired boy gives Kara a cruel smile.

Alex scowls, embarrassed that she ever had even a tiny crush on Ben. It’s not the first time Kara has been picked on, but this is the first time that Kara’s ever been cornered - at least as far as Alex knows. She makes a mental note to ask Kara about it later.

It’s hard to see Kara around Ben, Jen, and the two other girls and one boy surrounding her, but Alex can see enough that she knows Kara upset and afraid. Knowing Kara, Alex thinks she’s as equally afraid of what else they might say as what she might do if she loses her temper.

The sound of Alex’s books and backpack hitting the ground is almost thunderous in the mostly deserted halls. The noise startles the group around Kara, and Alex doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of their surprise.

She storms forward and catches Ben on the cheek with her fist. Pain explodes from her hand, but she ignores it as she has the satisfaction of seeing Ben fall backwards and into Jen until they’re both awkwardly sprawled out on the floor.

“Leave her alone, assholes,” Alex all but spits out as she reaches out with the hand that isn’t throbbing to pull Kara away.

They hurriedly retrieve Alex’s things as Jen’s cronies fawn over the fallen duo, and they’re almost out of the school by the time Ben releases an angry shout. They just barely make it to the bus in time, and the tension in Alex’s chest eases as they take their usual seat near the front.

“Thanks,” Kara says. Her head is ducked down and her glasses lowered as she holds Alex’s bad hand, squinting at the red knuckles. “Your hand will be fine.”

Alex gives her a tremulous smile, reveling in the soft brush of Kara’s thumb over her abused hand. “The pain is so worth seeing that jerk go down.”

Kara’s return smile is small. She glances out the window and back. “I wasn’t staring at her.”

“I know.” Alex takes in a deep breath and releases it, refusing to acknowledge the odd stares that come their way every so often. The recent teasing of Kara had taken on a new edge, one that Alex believes is due to their affection for each other. She isn’t sure how to handle it yet.

The punch seems like a good start, though she worries what Kara is thinking. She never thought she’d feel afraid of the prospect of not getting to casually touch someone. Alex has grown more than accustomed to how she and Kara interact; losing it now is impossible.

“They’ll get over it eventually,” Alex says in an attempt to fill the silence. The bus is rumbling and other kids are talking around them, but Kara remains quiet. The peeling brown cover of the seat in front of her suddenly seems fascinating.

Alex’s shoulders tense and her hand grows sweaty; she’s tempted to pull it free of Kara’s loose grasp. Instead she releases a shaky breath when Kara slumps over to rest her head against Alex’s shoulder.

“They’re stupid,” Kara finally says in a grumpy voice.

And Alex laughs, relieved in a way that she’ll never be able to describe. She squeezes Kara’s hand, not caring that her own throbs painfully when she does.

* * *

As the years slip by their comfort with each other grows and solidifies into a unique bond. They stop worrying what others think and revel in their mutual support through both good times and bad. The only hiccups in their bond come in Alex’s last years in college and her first ones with the DEO; the former because Alex finds the only way to drown the sorrow of distance from Kara out is with alcohol, and the latter because of the dedication her training requires.

A small chasm emerges between them then, but when Kara mellows and begins making more friends, Alex thinks it might not be such a bad thing. She grows used to the hollow ache of spending more time away from Kara, one complicated by the lies and secrecy required with her job.

Eventually, that passes as well. Kara is a marvelous addition to the team at the DEO, and Alex can’t describe her excitement at getting to work closely with Kara again. She’s proud of both Kara and herself, and the distance between them evaporates.

Vasquez takes a photo of them striding into the room together after completing a mission one evening, hands brushing as they walk. Alex hangs the picture up in her locker, loving the swagger in Kara’s step and the smile they’re sharing.

Alex grins at the picture as she finishes changing into her civilian clothes. By all accounts she should be upset that her car has been damaged in an unanticipated alien encounter, but she’s not.

“Hey,” Kara says as she taps lightly at Alex’s shoulder, “you ready?”

A thrill races down Alex’s spine as she half turns to face Kara. She doesn’t try to hide her smile. “Yep.”

Kara’s grin is just as wide, and her eyes glimmer with pleasure. She clears her throat and attempts to look serious. “A real shame you’re having trouble with your car.”

“Yeah, I can tell you’re really upset on my behalf.” Alex’s voice is dry but she’s still smiling. The DEO will see that her car is repaired or replaced as needed.

Kara reaches back to fidget with her cape, pursing her lips to try and maintain her serious facade. She forces a concerned look on her face. “Yep, very upset. Much upset.” She bounces on her toes after a moment and smiles. “Come on, let’s go flying!”

In a moment Alex is swept away to when they were children, and she reaches for Kara’s hand without thought. Kara responds by tangling their fingers together and leading them away, up and outside of the DEO facility to where they can comfortably take off.

There’s a moment of awkwardness as they argue over how they’ll fly - Alex has fond memories of their first and only flight together - but eventually Alex concedes to Kara holding her from behind.

Kara takes off slowly, not wanting Alex to be harmed with a sudden change in velocity.

Alex is breathless as they ascend, knowing Kara could hold her up with a hand, but warmed by the arms wrapped around her so that one hand is resting on her right shoulder and the other is on her left hip. They’ve embraced many times over the years, but there’s something exceptional about the moments soaring over National City with Kara’s warm breath tickling against the back of her neck. The trip takes far shorter than it should.

They land carefully at Kara’s apartment, but Alex doesn’t complain about the destination. She’s too aware of the hands that still haven’t moved from their resting positions on her body and the way her chest is heaving with a little too much effort.

She can’t move, can’t face Kara. Not right now. She swallows in an attempt to regain control of herself and fails.

When Kara’s hands finally drop, Alex could cry at the loss.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Kara asks in a soft voice.

Alex squeezes her eyes shut and releases a breath, turning to face Kara with a forced casual smile. “About what?”

“Doesn’t it feel like that moment right before a first kiss?”

And Alex suddenly can’t breathe, focused as she is on Kara’s lips and upset with herself for her inability to look away.

“I--” Alex’s throat works, unable to speak or move.

Kara steps forward and clasps the back of her neck, her head tilting until their lips are pressed together and Alex entirely loses the ability to think.

If she could think, Alex might marvel at how Kara’s lips can be so soft and pliant while being so strong. As it is, the gentle tickle of Kara’s fingertips tracing a delicate pattern at the back of her neck are incredibly distracting.

The moment is a revelation; one in which Alex understands that the shock of Kara’s lips against her own can and will never be forgotten.

They part eventually, and Alex regrets that her lung capacity is so inferior to Kara’s, panting and trying to gather herself as Kara presses a few tender kisses to her face.

“Are you okay?” Kara asks in a shaky whisper.

Alex steps closer so that their bodies are pressing snugly together, smiling and brushing a kiss to the corner of Kara’s mouth. “You were right.”

“I could get used to hearing that,” Kara says in a smug voice.

Alex’s smile widens into a grin, and she trails her lips across Kara’s cheek to rest against the shell of Kara’s ear. A shudder ripples through Kara’s body.

Alex smirks.”Let’s not get carried away.”

There’s a humming in her body, one that’s mirrored in Kara’s if the way her hands have settled on Alex’s hips are anything to go by.

Kara studies her, blue eyes serious. “What if I want to get a little carried away?”

Alex’s breathing hitches, making Kara’s eyes flutter closed. There’s a pull Alex feels toward Kara that she finally has a full understanding of, but the change in understanding is too much too soon. “I would say...let’s talk a bit first, yeah? I love you too much to mess this up.”

Though Alex worries that Kara will misunderstand, the look of devotion Alex receives makes her want to forget any notion of talking. Kara’s smile is wide as Alex takes her hand.

Kara nods. “Let’s talk.”

Alex Danvers has never been an overly tactile person; there is only _one_ exception to that truth.


End file.
